Steve Ellwanger

LAS VEGAS – Contrary to what some might think, John Osborn didn’t leave the creative world behind when he decided to shift from heading up BBDO New York to running the media side at OMD U.S. He feels he’s gotten even closer to the real action. “I don’t look at it as leaving anything behind,” […]

LAS VEGAS – To Simulmedia, which has about a decade head start in optimizing linear television ad targeting, it’s a good sign that large network groups have decided to adopt data-optimized, audience-based campaigns. “It’s critical to get their adoption to move a market because the TV ad market is one where demand exceeds supply,” says […]

LAS VEGAS – At events like CES 2018, noisy headlines about bright, shiny new technology can get ahead of reality. Take advanced television and shifting viewing habits, as seen through the eyes of WPP Group CEO Sir Martin Sorrell. “If you define television as screen and screen hours, there’s a bigger opportunity than there’s ever […]

LAS VEGAS – Three years ago next month, when DISH launched streaming service Sling TV, the company had bigger ambitions than just serving addressable ads on Sling. It was the recent measurement deal with comScore that delivered the missing piece: uniformly measured addressable TV for both streaming and linear programming. Now buyers can reach specific […]

LAS VEGAS – Longtime partners comScore and DISH have crossed the platform threshold, so to speak, with their partnership to provide uniform addressable advertising measurement across the Sling TV over-the-top service and DISH linear television. The deal gives advertisers a view of their campaign’s performance across Sling’s connected TV, mobile and desktop impressions, as well […]

MIAMI – Structural barriers. Organizational barriers. Silos. All of these play their part in retarding the progress of advanced television for all parties involved. While pursuing these topics can lead to circular conversations—everyone agrees on the need for change but no one thinks it won’t happen soon, if at all—such discussions actually help to clarify […]

LAS VEGAS – When Terry Kawaja takes in the proceedings at CES, he’s not focused on the “flashy consumer-facing stuff that we see on the show floor.” To the Founder and CEO of investment banking firm Luma Partners, it’s all about sub-trends. This means that things like self-driving cars, drones, artificial intelligence and virtual reality […]

MIAMI – What’s the best way to approach television targeting and measurement? And what’s the value of “waste” in the form of TV ad impressions? These and other topics were the focus of spirited and insightful debate at the recent Beet Retreat Miami 2017. Following are some of the more cogent exchanges during a panel […]

MIAMI – The next generation of television—as represented by things like the ATSC3.0 standard—is now in sight. Then again, so is the moon. To hear panelists at the recent Beet Retreat Miami explain it, lunar landings might be easier to achieve than getting TV broadcasters en masse to quickly embrace the future. Asked by moderator […]

MIAMI – Put several media industry professionals on a panel and ask them about the challenges of television and video audience measurement and you’re going to get lots of lively conversation. Along with some very blunt observations about just what’s holding back the progress of “advanced TV.” So it was at the recent Beet Retreat […]

MIAMI – The old adage “don’t take it personally” will be upended in the world of advanced television. Respecting viewer attention and guiding them to relevant content are going to be critical elements in perpetuating the ad-supported business model. Such observations arise when people in key positions peer beyond what’s currently happening in the TV […]

MIAMI – If you could change just one thing tomorrow that could speed up the advanced-television business, what would that be? Maybe nothing that would have an immediate impact on the way things were done—inertia being what it is—but it’s good to ponder the question anyway. This was the approach taken by Ashley J. Swartz, […]

MIAMI – As the advertising industry seeks to unify premium video and traditional television, there is a need for speed and there are speed bumps. Given these dynamics, it’s fair to ask whether consolidation on the adtech side will drive the most change or will it be the increasing demands of advertisers for greater outcomes […]

MIAMI – Yes, digital media and traditional TV are converging, but there’s much yet to be learned about improving the advertising viewing experience across screens. Moving from impression-based metrics to understanding consumer attention will help move things along. Some thinking holds that video is video, regardless of the platform, as sellers are more frequently combining […]

MIAMI – Viewing of premium video continues to shift from desktop to the big television screen. Underlying the transition are big increases not only in video views and full-episode player content consumption, but also a surge in watching live sports in over-the-top environments. Citing the FreeWheel Video Monetization Report for the second quarter of 2017, […]

MIAMI – Brand marketers want more accountability and predictability for their video campaigns, and more creative versioning based on viewer profiles will help deliver it, according to Jason Baadsgaard. The Chief Revenue Officer of Eyeview says the desire for more predictability involves helping marketers figure out how various inputs—among them audience, calibration, media and creative—actually […]

MIAMI – Viewers are way ahead of the television and video ecosystem, which remains siloed in some quarters. But there’s an inevitable shift happening that will culminate in both a unified currency and inventory pool. With over-the-top and set-top box viewing at about 50%, the big TV screen still accounts for four out of five […]

MIAMI – From a perch like that of Joanna O’Connell at Forrester Research, it’s hard not to see the big picture in the roiling television business and what needs to change. Whether it’s the “insane” practice of continually chasing lower CPM’s or the “chicken-and-egg” Netflix business model. Overall, the Principal Analyst believes that things are […]

MIAMI – About six months ago, dataxu unveiled the first self-serve platform for custom, audience-based buying of connected-TV inventory. “I’m always surprised by what our customers are now coming up with,” says Tore Tellefsen, the company’s VP of TV Solutions. dataxu started down the road of expanding its OneView audience management platform some four years […]

MIAMI – It’s not just the television industry that’s undergoing massive change as linear slowly cedes to other viewing options. Marketers, meanwhile, must embrace new forms of measurement as table stakes in their efforts to keep pace with that change. For both, the question becomes “How can we enhance the speed of change,” says Matt […]